


A Peek Into the Past

by Moon_Baby



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-09-06 23:43:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8774338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Baby/pseuds/Moon_Baby
Summary: A collection of histories for original characters.





	1. Sergey Volkov

Twelve Years Old 

“Alina!” I yelled at my sister who was giggling and rolling down the hill of newly bloomed flowers. I knew she was having fun, but I do not think she understood that if her clothes got too dirty, father was not going to be happy with her. It was never good when father was upset.

Instead of answering me, she giggled more wildly and just laid on the ground staring up at the incredibly blue sky. I really would not enjoy anything more than to lay down with her and play in the dirt with her. Unfortunately, I had to work in the stables while my sister should be fixing the work clothes father and I had ruined over the last several days.

If she did not get up and start doing that, father would-.

“What do you think you are doing?” The voice behind me made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end and my body tense to the point I was afraid I would break a bone if I even twitched. “Alina, you are supposed to be in the house mending.” Slowly our father’s voice became more venomous to the point I think I saw his snake tail swish to my side.

I watched with wide eyes as Alina shrunk back into the soil for all of a second before she was on her feet and tried to run to the house. She was not fast enough because the snake behind me struck with such speed if I had blinked I would have missed what he had done and would have assumed my sister had learned to fly. Our father’s hand came out and smacked her hard across the face, causing her small body to sprawl across the earth at our feet.

“And you Sergey, why are you here instead of the stables?” With the venom turning towards me, I barely dared to breathe. I simply stood there and stared at my sister as she held onto her face and tried to get to her feet. When she finally managed, I watched my father start to turn and give a feral snarl that told me was going to hit her again.

He hadn’t told her she could get up.

“I was taking a break.” I said hastily, even though I knew my answer was going to get me injured right along with Alina, but the focus was back on me and it gave her time to get to her feet fully. I did not have time to watch her try to scramble away. I just felt the hand close around my throat and I was lifted several feet off the ground. He was making me look at him.

“You were taking a break?” This time the snarl he gave did not even sound human. “A break?” His hand squeezed to the point that I saw blackness at the edge of my vision. Had it not been for him wanting to cause more damage, I am sure he would have killed me right there. Our family was not allowed to stop working. It was work or die.

Releasing me, my father barely let me hit the ground before his foot began to stomp on my body in various places. When he finally finished, there was not inch of my body that did not scream from the pain.

“Go tend to the horses. The next time you take a break, you will find that this is a very kind beating.”

Without another word my father left me, knowing that I would find a way to my feet even if I had two broken legs. I may be young and foolish, but I did not have a death wish. I only wanted to be able to eat dinner tonight so I would not starve like I had several nights before.

I gave a small grunt as I planted my hands on the ground and pushed myself to my feet. My side hurt and I felt warmth on my head from blood, but I had no time to clean up or to check on my sister. I only had the time to run the back of my hand over my face before I had to make my way to the stables, where the peaceful animals looked at me with much more worry than my family have ever bothered to feel towards myself or my sister.

* * *

 

Fifteen Years Old

“Hey Sergey, do you think our father will give me away to a kind man?” Alina asked as she looked out the window of our small room in our home. We had shared a room for as long as I could remember and now that we were getting older, it was seeming smaller and smaller. It was almost impossible for both of us to move around now, but that could be because I kept growing. Apparently I was taking after father more than I wanted to.

“No I don’t,” I told her truthfully, rolling on my bed so my back was facing her. I had just gotten to bed a few minutes ago from dealing with the crops. Out of everything I had to do, I hated tending to the various crops we grew to keep ourselves alive. If I could, I would spend all my time with the animals because at least they were kind enough to never demand anything from me besides some food and attention. 

“No,” She repeated with a small sigh. There was a long pause before she spoke again, but when she spoke again, it was not the idle talk of a fiancé. “Sergey, I don’t see fire, but I see smoke.”

The alarm in her voice made me annoyed because she couldn’t be telling me the truth. It was dark outside. There was no moon to shine down on everything so there was no way she could see something like smoke in the dark night sky.

“Sergey! There is fire!”

I groaned in slight annoyance before I rolled onto my other side and looked out of the window. Sure enough I could see the haze of smoke, which meant it was close. I blinked a few times at the smoke that I finally began to smell, only to jump from the bed and run from the house, Alina at my heels.

When we got outside we noticed no fire in the house, but the barn was flaming high into the sky. I had just been outside and it had been fine. How had a fire burned this quickly?

“Sergey, oh my god! The kittens are in there!”

Looking at Alina I gave her a confused look. “The kittens? We have no cats.”

“Well, I,” Alina didn’t say anything more. She just started bawling, listening to the screaming of the animals inside of the barn.

She had always been the most kind out of our family. When our mother had been alive, she had been sweet behind father’s back, but never so openly kind as to weep over kittens when someone else was around. It made my chest ache because I knew most of the animals, if not attended to now, would be killed in the fire and I could not see a way in. At least, not from this distance and if I got closer I could risk being killed as well.

Looking at Alina for a moment, I thought about my choices, before finally giving in. To save her kindness, I would try to get the kittens she was weeping for.

“You better love me my dear sister,” I whispered before bolting forward. With my long legs, it was easy to cross the distance to the barn and to rip open the door that had begun to burn. Instantly, three horses charged out into the night past me and towards my sister, causing her to give a startled yelp somewhere behind me.

There were many more animals inside, which I found all trying to escape the flames. One mule looked like it had already been burned alive, but I got a mother and her young foal out with a little leading. Then the herding dogs and a few of the injured cows that were being kept in the barn. However, during all this, I could not find any cats. I could feel the heat of the flames and had to put a few out that had started on my night shirt, but no kittens.

That is, until I was about to leave. There, at the entrance were three little kittens next to their mother who looked like she had died already. Two of the kittens still squirmed with life, but the third was as still as it’s mother. With a soft apology to the two dead animals, I plucked the surviving animals up and ran out of the burning barn. In total, at least eight animals had been killed, but that didn’t mean any of the others would not die from the lingering effects that typically came with a fire.

Especially these little kittens who now had no mother.

Panting, I looked at my sister who was still sobbing, but noticed she was smiling at me.

“I could only save two.” I said to her, holding my hands out to show the two mewling kittens. She took them from me and started to cry more, telling them she was sorry for leaving them. Had I not spotted my father running over from herding the horses somewhere, he would have seen her with the kittens, something he would not have liked.

Since I saw him though, I was able to grab them and hide them in the pockets of the pants I was wearing. It was only when I was pulling my hands free that I saw how many holes were in them as well as my shirt. I would be covered in burn marks come morning.

“Where are the rest?” Came my father’s rough voice still laced with the same venom as usual.

“I got out every animal that was still alive,” I said in a voice that was a little hoarser than it usually was. I think it was because of the smoke and ash that had begun to scratch at my neck.

“You watch any animals die?”

I knew that no matter how I answered this question, I would be screwed. He would find some fault to anything, but I decided I would say the one thing that would keep me as close to perfect as I could in his twisted eyes. “No. All that died had already died before I reached the barn.”

I saw Alina shift nervously, knowing that if I got beaten, so would her kittens. The ones I had just risked my life for. Maybe I should have left them with her.

“And why did you not get here sooner?” Our father was near yelling now, his chest puffing out in the process.

“I did not see the fire,” I stated simply. I was beginning to feel the pain from the burns and my tired muscles. I had worked all day before this, causing my body to be beyond fatigued. If I didn’t sleep soon, I would probably collapse.

That would make my father happy. Another reason to add to the scars I was collecting from his beatings.

“You owe me two animals for every animal that perished in the fire.” I almost fainted from the thought because I didn’t have time to leave our little area, let alone try to barter with a family that would be several miles away to part of something they needed to survive.

While I knew what my father asked was impossible, I nodded my head silently. If I just agreed, he might let me pass with the abuse I already received from the flames.

“Go back in and make sure no other animals are caught there.” I heard Alina suck in a breath, but she made no other noise because our father was beginning to turn towards her. He almost looked like he had just noticed her. I should have let her keep the kittens because they would have been safer. Now they had to go back into the flames with me. “And get all the dead animals out while you are out. We might be able to salvage meat from them.”

Nodding my head, I began walking to the fire again and tried not to think of the pain I was about to endure for the second time. Then I thought of something. Walking in I grabbed a goose that had died closest to the door. With it in hand, I walked out of the barn and set it down carefully on the ground. Since I was kneeling close to the ground it was easier to hide the fact I was hiding the kittens under its body.

I stood then, looking up at my sister until she looked back at me. Her gaze was questioning, knowing that my hesitation would get me in trouble, but she noticed that I put my hands in my pockets and took them out, with nothing in them and seemed to realize what I had done. With a motion that could not even be considered a nod, she turned back to my father who was near fuming that I was taking, what he would assume was, a break.  

I would pay for my actions, but it would be worth it. Alina would be happy to have her kittens and they were safe from the beating I would receive as well as the flames I had to walk back into.

 

It didn’t take me long to get the dead animals out of the barn, but I had nearly lost my life in the process. A few beams had come crashing down on me and now there was a long red line that was weeping small tears of blood. They were dripping down my back in streaks causing my skin to look oddly pale. Typically, I wasn’t all the pale thanks to being in the sun all the time, but now I doubted someone could pick me out of the snow banks that would come in the next few months.

“Alina?” I whispered, not caring for how soft and hoarse my voice had become.

My sister did not answer me, so I moved through our small home to our shared room. She was not there. I started to become alarmed and turned to rush out of the room, only to stop when my father’s form blocked the doorway.

“Where is Alina?” My voice was a little stronger, but not by much.

“She is sleeping outside with the animals tonight. You will not be sleeping at all.”

My brows furrowed slightly as I looked out the window. Why would he make Alina sleep outside? Had it not been for her, we would have no animals left to call our own. I would have asked, but I knew to hold my tongue. The less I spoke, the less likely I was to get a severe beating. My body was already covered in his marks, showing just how often I displeased him. I did not need to add to them.

“Turn around.”

Turning my attention back to my father, I gave him a confused look, one that turned to slight fear when I saw the look in his eyes. He was not happy with me and the only reason I was probably still alive was because I owed him animals. If I did not turn around now, he might rethink his decision to let me live long enough to get him the creatures he desired.

Still, I hesitated to move because I had never seen him look like this. When he was upset, it was always pure hatred shining in his eyes. This was different. He almost looked like he was planning something he enjoyed rather than taking out his frustrations.

It was almost more frightening.

Swallowing the small amount of bile that had begun to rise in my throat, I turned so my back faced him. I had no idea he would reach out and rip what was left of my shirt off my back, exposing every inch of red and bleeding skin, but that is exactly what he did.

“Painful?” The single word question had me more confused than before because he never asked if I was in pain. Even if I screamed out in agony, he would simply walk past as if I had just laughed. Now that I was standing there, with my bleeding back towards him, he was asking if I was in pain?

“Yes,” I answered nervously.

“Obviously it does not hurt much. You aren’t screaming.” The moment my father said the word ‘screaming’ I felt a large surge of pain cause my vision to blur and my knees to buckle. I hit the ground hard and my knees screamed out as my hands barely managed to keep me from falling forward to hit my head on the edge of my sister’s best post.

My vision was just about to come back when another blow came across my back and I felt like I was going to puke. My back screamed out as my hands clutched tightly at the old, shattered post.

“Painful?”

This time I didn’t ask and simply leaned my head forward to hide my face from him. I was trying not to scream out, especially when his foot pressed against my back, right where the worst burn had been. I could feel my skin tearing as he applied pressure. If it weren’t for me already feeling like I was burning everywhere, the hot blood that began to drip down to my legs would have been like boiling water.

Instead, it felt like water that had been left in the sun for an hour. It was warm, but cooler than the fire that was eating me alive.

“And now you make a mess in my home.”

I wanted to scream that it had not been done by choice, but nothing came out. I simply gasped for breath and gave a soft whine when he finally took his foot off my back. He was going to be finished now. He had to be.

“For that, I will shame you to the point you will not dare make any more mistakes.” Considering I had not made any mistakes thus far, I did not see what he wanted me to remember not to do, but I do not think it mattered. I think my father just had not sated himself with my sister. Now that I was sitting there, I could see blood on her sheets and could see her night gown torn and discarded on the side of the bed.

She was not here and I had a bad feeling that when I found her she would be in worse shape than I.

“Alina,” I whispered in a quiet prayer, hoping she was well enough to curl up against a dog to keep warm until I could get out of here and give her clothes to cover herself in once more.

I should not have said anything however, because I was heard. My father reached down, grabbed the hair I had forgotten to cut over the last few months and pulled me to my feet and dragged me out into the main area of the house. He threw me against our table and left for a few moments. When he returned he had Alina in his hand, whimpering and shivering. She was trying to cover herself with her one free hand, but it was in vain. Her hands were too small.

He threw her at me and I had barely kept her up when she collided with me. It was a painful move, one that made me echo her whimper, but mine was of pain rather than fear.

“Your shame will only be worse now that your dear sister will be watching.” He looked at Alina and gave her a small growl that made her begin to tremble. “I only hope you are less annoying than she was.”

He took a step towards us, and she began to cry hysterically. Luckily, she was simply cast aside and I was the one turned around and pinned against the surface of the table. It was not a pleasant feeling, having my insides ripped open for several hours from my father’s manhood, but after a while my mind was able to numb the feelings and let me simply sleep with my eyes open.

When he finally finished, he grabbed onto my hair again and dragged me outside, casting me into the mud.

Passing out there had probably been the best thing for me, because I did not have to listen to my sister scream as my father took her again, this time planting his seed in her and causing her to become pregnant with his child.

* * *

Twenty Years Old

“Sergey, can you please take my son for a moment,” Alina asked as she dusted flour off her clothes and tried to take the prying hands of little Sasha off her. It was not working, but she knew I could get him to stop. Only problem was, if I stopped, I would be taking a break and we knew how much our father hated it when I took breaks. The new gash on my left cheek was an indicator for that.

Not that I could say no to my sister. Even the pain it would bring would not be enough to make me leave her to Sasha’s greedy little hands.

Walking forward, I plucked the young child from the floor and lifted him up so his back nearly touched the ceiling. Instantly a rain of giggles came from the child’s mouth and Alina was able to continue her chores quickly. The quicker she finished, the less likely our father would make our pain his pleasure again.

“Are you pestering your mother?” I asked him with a voice weak from lack of use. I rarely spoke because I spent most of my time at my father’s side, trying to find food in the middle of this snow storm.

The child’s laughter got louder when I dropped him to the floor and began to playfully chase him around the small space of the home. It ended quickly though when I saw movement at one of the windows. Our father would be coming in and he did not like me playing with Sasha. Out of all of his children, Sasha was his favorite. Sasha was treated with kindness, something I was eternally grateful for, but knew me playing with Sasha would end up causing one of us pain. Since I could not guarantee it would be me, he would have to learn he could only see me when it was just me and his mother around.

Grabbing the jacket, I had discarded, I walked out of the door the moment my father came inside and I went back to the barn, making sure all of the horses were warm. Their thick coats made me jealous. My father did make me have longer hair, but not to keep warm. It was for much sinister reasons and I knew, the moment he died, I would shave it all off. That would leave me envying the animals that much more.

Sighing, I grabbed a bucket and began to clean up the stall that had held our last pig. We had to kill her a few days ago because our food supplies were running low. I was only half way finished cleaning when I heard Sasha’s cry.

Dropping the cloth in my hand, I ran through the snow and into the house where my sister was laying on the kitchen floor, her blood spilling out of her as her eyes stared blankly ahead at the stove. My father stood a few feet away with a devilish look in his eyes and blood on his hands.

I knew she was dead long before I dropped to my knees and tried to stop the bleeding. Sasha’s cries had told me that as he clung to her skirts and asked for her to get up. Still, I was desperate to get her back and patted her cheek in an attempt to get her attention. I wanted her glazed over eyes to turn to me and tell me she had only been in shock.

“Alina,” I whispered, still trying to coax life into her.

“Bury her body out back. Do not come back inside until you are done.” My father’s voice was as it always was, like a snake ready to strike and since it was only myself and Sasha, I had no choice but to do as told. If one of us was punished, I could not risk it being Sasha.

Slowly, I gathered Alina in my arms and forced Sasha to let go. I then left the crying child to my father as I took her to the snow covered ground. I knew it would never work, trying to dig a hole in the frozen ground, but I still tried. I tried until the sun came up and the snow began to fall again. I then collapsed in the snow and knew that if I didn’t go inside for at least a moment, I would freeze and Sasha would be alone.

It felt like years before I managed to get to the house and I was glad to see my father was not awake when I went to the fire and curled in front of it. For a few moments I was able to soak up the heat until I felt small hands on my arm, shaking me in almost a panic.

Turning my head slowly, I looked up at Sasha’s red eyes and saw him break down into a sobbing mess. His small arms grabbed onto me and held so tight that I was effectively locked in place, trying to sooth the child who was crying for his mother. He did not mean to get me in trouble. He had simply wanted attention, but our father heard and woke up.

It took no more than two minutes for him to descend on us and make me pay with my body in the same ways I always did. By the time my father finished his abuse, my legs refused to work, my eye was black, my lip was swollen and two ribs were broken. To make it worse, Sasha had witnessed it all and was now curled up in a corner, his little hands covering his eats as he shut his eyes so tightly I thought he might never be able to open them.

I had wanted to comfort him, but since I did not leave the house when ordered, my father had made a swift kick to my head and I was out. By the time I woke up, Sasha had stopped crying and my father had gone out to burn Alina’s body. At least that left me by the fire and not dead. For Sasha’s sake, that was a good thing. The poor child did not need to understand the pain that ached at the base of my spine.

“Sasha,” I said gently, getting the boy’s attention. His usual bright blue eyes found me, but they looked frightened. It was as if he expected me to beat him the way our father had beaten me. As much as I wanted to take him away from here, I knew there was nowhere we could go. With a soft grunt, I pushed myself up and moved over to him, pulling him into my lap and cradling him against my chest.

For a moment, I thought about just leaving him like this. Protecting him in my arms, but then I heard the crunch of snow outside and knew our father was coming back. If he kept finding me protecting Sasha, the boy would suffer more than I did.

However, when I tried to remove him from my lap, Sasha grabbed onto my hair and held on, the pain from my father already tugging at the strands making it impossible for me to pull him away.

“Get your shameful hands off of the child!” Our father’s voice was like a roar that you would hear from a monster. His eyes blazed and his lips curled up slightly to show his teeth. He looked like an animal.

The moment our father stepped forward, Sasha began to scream so loudly, I thought I would lose my hearing. I almost wanted to cover my ears like he had done, but I didn’t have time. As Sasha screamed, our father was storming towards us and his eyes were no longer on me. They were on Sasha.

Without thinking, I forced my legs to work and I kept Sasha against my bare chest as I ran outside. I ignored the cold sting of the snow on the open claw marks on my back as I went to the barn and grabbed the first horse. Taking a blanket from a shelf, I was just wrapping Sasha up when I felt someone grab my arm and haul me away. Sasha stumbled and slipped almost under the large animal, who was startled enough to rear.

If I wasn’t so worried that my father had caught up with me, I would have thought to look for Sasha, who could easily be crushed by the massive hooves of the animal.

Turning, I lifted my hand to strike my father for the first time, but found it was not my father. It was a woman, her hair as red as fire and her face as pale as the falling snow. She looked like she had stepped out of a painting, with her high cheek bones and full lips. Her appearance caught me so off guard, I did not notice her teeth were strange or the fact her chin was dripping with blood.

“I was feeding.” She said, her tongue coming out to run over her lower lip, capturing a bead of blood that had been about to roll down to her chin. “You interrupted.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but was at a complete loss. She was feeding? From what? What would cause the blood stain around her mouth?

“Who are you?”

My father’s voice brought me back to reality and I instantly shrunk back, grabbing onto Sasha and put him on the back of the still nervous animal. I was climbing on top with him when my hair was pulled back and I was forced to the ground. However, I was not held there long before I heard a loud crash and saw my father crumbling to the ground.

“You attack a child sir?” The woman’s voice seemed to hold power, one that made me tremble almost as much as my father’s voice had.

“He is not a child!” My father snapped as he forced himself to his feet. He chest was heaving and he looked murderous, but something told me he would not come closer. At least not until he evaluated the situation better. That meant I could get my brother out of here.

Grabbing onto the horse’s mane, I climbed onto the horse, wincing at the pain and wrapped the blanket tightly around Sasha. That’s as far as I got though before my father made a loud noise and both Sasha and I were thrown. I tried to hold on, but Sasha slipped from my hands I hit the ground first and rolled away from the horse. Sasha did not. Sasha fell in the way of the hooves and was killed the instant the horse lowered itself in a heavy drop.

With a cry of anger and pain I did not think could come from my body I shoved the horse away and picked up Sasha’s broken body. His head had taken the brute of the force so he no longer looked like himself, but I still pulled him against my chest and gave another cry.

“You killed my son!” I heard my father yell.

The words seemed to make everything inside of me shatter as I looked up at him with such rage that I think I forgot everything but my anger at what this man had cost me. He had drove my mother to an early grave, beat my sister and myself, raped us both, killed her, burned her body, killed Sasha, and now had the nerve to be heartbroken over Sasha’s death?

Feeling my anger swell further I snarled at my father and stood, keeping Sasha’s body tight against my chest. I grabbed the first object I could lift and swung it at my father. I missed and hit the wall next to him, but noticed a large hole was created from the object going through the wood.

“I will kill you!” I could feel my voice leaving my throat, but it did not sound like my voice. I sounded like a demon and I sounded deadly. My father must have heard it too because his face paled and he seemed to think better than to come closer.

For that moment, I had forgotten all about the woman who had kept me from running to begin with and only remembered she was there when my father looked at her. He dared be afraid of something other than me right now? I almost wanted to kill her too until I looked at her and she was standing mere inches from me. Her pupils had been blown wide and her lips were parted in a dangerous kind of grin.

“You can kill him in a moment. I need blood and if you give it to me, I will give you all the strength you could ask for to torture and kill him.” Her eyes lifted to mine then down to my neck. “Just let me feed. There is too much blood in the air.”

I did not understand what she was talking about, but my gut told me to accept her words, so I turned my head to look at my father and said, “If you help me kill him, you can feed as much as you want.”

 

I do not remember much after what I told her. I just remember collapsing and having her on top of me. Then I remember waking up in the barn, Sasha’s body nowhere to be seen and my father just as far gone.

I also remember the discomfort I got when I rolled into the patch of sun that was shining through the window.

“You will want to feed too before you go after your father.”

Looking up at the red haired woman, I tried to decide what she meant, but then she leaned toward me, holding out a bloodied rat. I do not know what it was, but I reached out and snatched the dead animal and lifted it to my mouth. I took two long swallows and all the blood in the rat was done and the sun didn’t hurt as much.

Tossing the lifeless body, I opened my mouth to ask her another question, but then she shook her head and held out another rat. I took it and drained it of its blood as well. I did this four times before she finally stopped handing me rats and let me ask a question.

“Where is he?”

“Not even a ‘what am I’ or ‘why did I just drink a rat’s blood’?” I could see the amusement in her large green eyes, but she did not laugh. She just smiled and leaned forward so she was only a few inches from my face. “He is currently hiding in the house. He thinks I killed you and he thinks I am going to kill him. He does not realize that you will be killing him shortly. Do you want to torture him?”

At first, I wanted to say yes, but then I realized I just wanted to get it over with. So instead I shook my head and slowly stood up, running my hair through my matted, bloody hair.

“Just want him dead.”

The woman nodded and tilted her head to the side, giving me a seductive smile that must work on many men. However, seduction never worked on me. I did not have time to let it. I normally had to be working to survive, not flirting with wenches who were convinced everyone wanted them.

“Then he shall be dead. Go into the home. You can kill him easily. You will find he can no longer over power you. Your body should be, with the aid of the borrowed blood, much better than it used to be. Now go. Enjoy your revenge.”

Nodding my head, I strode from the barn and straight to the house, where I ripped the door from the doorway and tossed it over my shoulder as if it had been a scrap of bread for the herding dogs.

“Wh-What?” The shrill voice of my father almost made me laugh. He did nod sound very venomous anymore.

Without saying a word, I walked up to him and looked directly into his eyes. There was so much fear I almost wondered if I had the wrong person, but I knew better. He had the cold eyes that were as dark as the night sky and the dirtied skin of a working man. He was my father. The heartless man who had done nothing but put me through hell.

I felt the loud growl of anger leave my throat mere seconds before I reached out and ripped his head from his shoulders. It took almost no effort to separate the two. It was only as I watched his body fall to the floor that I realized I was holding his head, a silent scream keeping his mouth open as his eyes slowly went from vibrant to glassy.

“That was quick.”

Turning, I looked at the red haired woman and noticed, for the first time, that she wore nothing more than the blood of whatever animal she had been eating in our barn. She seemed to think I liked the view because she began to walk forward, her hips swaying to emphasize her womanly curves.

“Get out.” I still did not recognize my own voice as I spoke to her. I sounded harsh and unforgiving. It was not a sound I had ever heard from myself before. Then again, when I had typically spoken, it was to Sasha or Alina. I had no reason to be harsh to either of them.

“You want me to leave? But don’t you want to play?” Her voice had gone husky and she was within arm’s reach. I could see her arm reaching towards me so I took a step back and put some more space between us. “I guess you don’t. Suit yourself. I’ll just feed and get out of here.”

Slowly she walked back out of the house and back to the barn. I could hear the scream of an animal as she began her feast, but I did not care about the creatures anymore. Why should I? They had been part of the reason I was beaten all the time.

Looking down at my father’s head, which was still in my grasp, I tried to think of a time he would not have deserved this. No matter how long I thought about it, I could not think of a single time. He had always been cruel and uncaring. He had deserved to die many years ago, but no one had been able to kill him. At least, not until now. Now I had the strength and drive to kill the man since he had taken everything away from me. The only things I had lived for. The only things I tried so hard to protect.

Throwing the head against the wall, I began to snarl and found that my anger was still rising. I needed an outlet.

Walking into my father’s room, I began to rip everything apart. Every piece of wood came apart until there was nothing left for me to tear. Then I finally went back to my room and collapsed on the bed my sister had once occupied. She nor Sasha would come in to tell me to move. They were forever dead, leaving me in a world that had treated me with nothing but cruelty. As much as I hoped, I knew there would be nothing kind that would come to me now. I had just ripped my father’s head from his body. I was not going to be worth much to this world.

* * *

 One Hundred and Three Years Old

Stepping into the bar, I stretched my neck and tried to look like one of the many humans who littered the stools. It was not working well because I was far taller than they were and my eyes were not full of life like theirs. Since the day I had killed my father, I had known I looked dead on the inside. It did not help that the woman had told me I would live forever if I allowed myself and that was a frightening thought. Living on my own was a horrible way to spend forever.

“Can I get you something to drink?” The man behind the bar asked, his gaze obviously sizing me up. He was probably figuring out that if a fight started, he would not be able to stop me. I would over power him in a second flat.

“Wine,” I stated as I sat down on a recently unoccupied stool.

The look I received bordered him thinking I was insane, but he said nothing, got me a glass and filled it with a rich red wine. Carefully, I reached over the counter and took the glass, bringing it to my lips and took a long swallow. It tasted like ash on my tongue and, had it not been for the years of pretending food tasted good, I would have spit it out across the man’s face. Instead I just took another sip and leaned back in my seat slightly so I could hook my heel on the lowest bar on the stool.

I was only seated for five minutes before a male came up to me and got my attention by leaning between myself and the patron on the stool next to me.

I don’t know what he said because I was too busy getting up and walking away with the drink in my hand. I made it three steps before another, much smaller male got in my way. I almost did not notice him he was so short, but his hand on my chest felt like a fly that I had to look down at.

“That was rude of you.” The male’s voice was slightly high pitched and he looked like he was going to have a complex. Yes, I was twice his size. No, I did not do that on purpose.

Grunting softly, I moved his hand away from me with a quick swat and moved over to another seat. Soon, the short man and his friend began to come to me, but they stopped once another male slid into the seat next to me and gave him a toothy grin that reminded me of a mischievous cat.

“You should be careful who you pick a fight with. Those men are not good company.” This male had a smooth voice, one that was filled with knowing. Unlike my previous company, he wasn’t tiny. He was only a few inches shorter than I was, but he wasn’t as built. He probably had not spent many years outside working on a farm.

Then again, it had been almost a century since I had done such things. I guess I could not use that excuse anymore.

“A man of very few words I see.” Looking at the man a little closer, I noticed the small specks of scars on his face, all of which were located in areas where someone would likely be hit. However, even with his scars telling me one thing, I noticed how civilized the male looked. He must get into fights and then go home to a plush bed that would allow him to sleep well as he healed. “Well, since that is the case, I guess you won’t ask many questions when I offer you a job.”

A job? This man wanted to offer a complete stranger a job? Was he a moron?

“Don’t give me that look. I know it’s strange, but you are almost too big to fit through that door and that means you make a better door than the door does. I need body guards like that so I don’t get killed when I walk around places. I know it’s a risky job, but I can pay well.”

I wanted to tell him that I do not need the cash, but then thought better of it. Why should I say I do not want money? I may not need it now, but what about when this man dies and I am still alive? I will have money to burn and will not need to be in a room owned by a blind man. Money buys silence after all. If I got too hungry and feed from someone I would not need to kill those that saw, I could simply bribe them.

“Show me you can fight and you have the job.”

Looking at my possible employer, I set my wine down and leaned so I was facing him. He had no idea who I was. If I started a fight, I would kill everyone here. I did not want to deal with the stress of that right now.

“You will see me fight when you need to. Now is not that time.” My voice was rough from lack of use, but the man did not seem to mind. Instead he just grinned his toothy smile at me and nodded his head causing his chocolate brown hair to shift in front of his eyes slightly.

“Alright. You start now. Finish that wine. I need to get out of here. Those men are realizing I didn’t come here with my usual support, meaning I am in a lot of danger.”

This man was a moron. That was what I thought as I got up with him and began to move to the door. We made it almost to the exit before I saw someone pull a dagger and lunge.

With speed that surprised my attacker, I grabbed his wrist and squeezed, breaking the bones and quickly took the knife before it fell from his grasp. As he fell to his knees, crying in agony, I weighed the weapon in my hand and then tossed it at the next man to try to come towards us. The knife sunk itself hilt deep into his forehead and he quickly fell back onto the wooden floor.

“Well, I chose wisely didn’t I?” The male grinned at me as we very calmly left the building. “I’m Viktor Zolnerowich.”

Looking at Viktor, I tried to gaze how annoyed I would get with him, but found that I was thinking back to my past in a different way than usual. He reminded me of Sasha, with that full smile and his shaggy hair, it was hard not to picture him as such. It was just like he had grown up even thought I knew my brother was long dead.

“Sergey.”

“Well Sergey, you are going to have one hell of a time trying to keep me save. I’m creating a group that will keep family safe, will keep people in order, and make a ton of money in the process.” His smile grew slightly as he put his hands into his fur coat that shielded him from the chill of the wind. “Think you can keep up with me?”

For a moment, I said nothing. I didn’t have anything to say. Could I keep up with him? Yes. Should I? No. I was likely going to eat him.

Still, even with that in mind, I found myself saying, “Yes.”

* * *

 

One hundred and Thirteen Years Old

“Sergey, you old man, come have a drink with me. I have something to discuss with you.” Viktor’s voice pulled me from my thoughts and away from the men training in the front yard. The younger male had made me train some new bodyguards after the last batch had died in a fight on the road.

Nodding my head, I followed Viktor through the old mansion he had purchased a few months ago to a sitting room fill with such luxury I wondered if the gods themselves had created the decorations for their own homes. It was much different than the wood hut I used to call a home when I was human.

“My wife is pregnant again.” Viktor’s voice was strained as he poured himself a glass of something and turned to look at me. His eyes were tired and he looked like he was ready to sleep even though it was still early in the morning.

“Congratulations,” I muttered off handedly before sitting down in my usual chair by the fire.

“Thank you, but that isn’t what I have to discuss with you. What I want to discuss with you is your employment.” I looked at him and let my eyebrows rise in question, but said nothing. “I know you are a vampire and you will live until certain conditions are met, but I want to be sure you will remain in the service of my family even when I pass from this world.” When I said nothing, he gave a small grunt and sat down in his seat across from me. His long legs crossed, but his back reclined on his seat and his head fell back over the back of his chair in an exaggerated sigh. “You say you have no loyalty to anything, but funds,” Viktor paused as he lifted his head and looked at me with his tired eyes again, “But I can see differently. My daughter shows great love for you. She hardly releases your pant leg when you are in the room. She almost goes to you before she comes to me and I see the way you look at her. It is like she is your child and that cannot be because of the money I pay you. I pay you less than anyone on my payroll, yet you act as if you are paid the most.”

“I stopped trying to hide where my loyalties lied long ago Viktor.” He was right. I was no longer in this for the money, but I did not want anyone other than him to know that.

“Then promise me you will watch over my children even after I leave this world. Out of everything I have and am willing to sacrifice, their lives are not one of them.” Viktor got and stood before me. “Make the promise and I’ll make sure you are part of the family forever and treated as if you were my brother rather than my bodyguard.”

I would have told him that was fine, but I liked not having people question or look to me for answers. I enjoyed the simple bodyguard job I had.

“Keep the title for me. Just tell your children and their children that I do not ever lose my job. This gives me something mindless to do that can give me free blood. Do that and I’ll watch them.”

The look on Viktor’s face nearly glowed and it almost hurt.

“You have my word Sergey.”

* * *

 

Two Hundred and Ninety-Four Years Old

“Sergey, take care of my wife. I have a damn meeting to go to. I fucking hate that there are two mafias’ in this country.” I watched as Ilia walked away from the room, putting a phone next to his ear as he did so. Ilia always seemed to be at war with that other gang. It was becoming a thorn in my side as well.

Still, I ignored the annoyance and walked into the delivery room, where Ilia’s wife was with their new born son was curled up in her arms. Elvira was a sweet woman, but she had become harder over the last several years. I don’t think she had known what she was getting into when she married Ilia.

Walking over to the bed, I looked down at the new child and watched him squirm a little. He was cute just like most children were, but he was a little on the skinny side for a baby. Without meaning to, I found myself comparing the baby to Sasha. I hadn’t done that in so many years that I had been taken aback. I normally pretended to breathe, but right now I couldn’t even manage that much.

“Sergey?” Elvira asked nervously.

“May I hold him?” I don’t know why I asked because I never had before, but now I couldn’t stop myself. I really wanted to hold the child that had reminded me of my brother.

With the kindness she had shown since the day I met her, Elvira slowly lifted her son so I could take him and hold him in my arms. The moment I held onto him, I saw his eyes move to take in my appearance. Since my father’s time, my skin had healed and had almost no scars remained to make me more appealing to my prey, so he did not see the scar on my lip or the scar that would have made me look like I was smiling. I was thankful for that because such scars could scare babies.

Blinking, I watched as a small hand came up and waves at me, as if trying to grab onto something. When he gave a small grunt, I lowered my head and let his hand gently hit my cheek, right where the scars had once been. Once his hand touched my skin, I saw him smile and again, I thought of Sasha.

“His name is Dima,” Elvira muttered, reaching her hand out to stroke a single finger over her baby’s head. The small fluff of hair on his tiny head looked soft especially when Elvira stroked it so delicately. “I believe he will be strong like Ilia.”

Lifting my head to look at Elvira, I saw just how tired she was. There were dark circles under her eyes and for the first time I thought back to Alina and how tired she had been when she had given birth. She had been in a lot of pain too. I remember her cries as she tried to get comfortable in the process of trying to get little Sasha from her body. It had caused strain on her for several days and I was sure Elvira was no different. I knew she had ignored drugs and had gone straight into labor without batting an eye.

Elvira truly was a strong woman.

“You will protect him as you have protected Ilia’s family for generations?” Her voice seemed to be a little more tired than before, but she continued to stroke the soft fuzz on top of Dima’s head.

“He will be safe for as long as I live Elvira,” I barely whispered as my gaze went down to Dima. His hand still rested on my cheek and his eyes never seemed to leave me face as he gave a small hiccup of laughter. A child had not given me this look since Sasha. They always liked me because I was their gentle giant, but this was different.

He could be my brother coming back to me.

“Thank you Sergey.”

Looking up, I glanced at Ilia and went to return Dima to Elvira, but Ilia waved his hand dismissively. I was nervous to do so, but I held Dima a little tighter against my chest and soaked up the warmth I got from him through the blanket that wrapped him up so tightly.

“I can already tell he will be much more difficult than I was, but I’m sure you will teach him just as well as you taught me.” Ilia moved over and mimicked what Elvira had done to Dima’s hair. “I just hope he does not need your protection as much as I have needed it in the past.”

Over the last several weeks, I had been riddled with bullets saving Ilia from rivals, but I had not thought of it. I had been doing this job so often I never thought about how often I was hurt. Normally that was a good thing, but when I looked down at Dima, I had a feeling make my gut sink to the floor.

I had been protecting this family for a long time. One day I would slip and since Dima was like my Sasha, I was likely to lose him. How old he would be didn’t matter. I just had this horrible feeling I would forget how to protect him for a second and that second would be all it took to lose him all over again.

* * *

 Three Hundred and Eleven Years Old

“Serge, want to help me sneak out of the house?” Dima’s question made me narrow my eyes as I looked up from my book to look at him. He had a permanent smile on his lips that was always mischievous, but very well hidden behind an innocent look. Dima had become proficient at looking like an angel and acting like a devil.

“No.”

I had begun to start reading again when the sixteen-year-old came up to me and plucked the book from my hands.

“Yes.”

For a moment I watched him before I smirked a very small smirk. The only one who would ever see it would be Dima who had always, since the day he was born, watched and knew my little tells. He knew that when I read, I did not always read. I would stare at the same page and just meditate. He also knew that if I gave this smirk he would get what he wanted… at a cost.

“Fine, but you have to do defensive training for the next week.”

“A week?!” Dima’s voice went up a few octaves as he let his jaw drop is mock surprise. He knew I would tell him something like this and he had accepted his fate long ago. “Fine, whatever, but this time, go easy on me. I’m not a vampire you know.”

Chuckling softly, I got up and walked to his side. This is where I spent the majority of my time: at Dima’s side. I had long ago left standing at Ilia’s side because Dima had become the heir. I had to protect him and I was glad for it. I enjoyed watching him and seeing his little antics. However, I did miss how he would cling to my pant leg as a two-year-old like Sasha had done to Alina’s skirts all those years ago.

“You may not be, but I am. Imagine how good you will be when you can best me.” For once in my life I was speaking more and my voice was not hoarse from lack of use. Even if I spoke in small sentences, I still spoke.

“Fair enough.” Dima gave me a large smile and he began to lead the way out of the house. Really, he did not need to sneak out if I was with him. No one would question it because I was that well known and feared. The perks of being an old vampire that stood at six foot six and had arms that people compared to tree trunks. “So, you know where I am going. Think you can keep people from finding me for a few minutes? Last time I didn’t even get to bat my eyes at Alexei before I had to run.” Dima always wanted to go see his friend Alexei. It was an odd friendship for sure, but I now knew the other’s home like the back of my hand and had an easy time getting Dima when he got into trouble. “Give me five minutes and I’ll stop complaining about defense training.”

“Do not lie to me.”

Dima barked out a laugh and looked at me with that mischievous smile. “Fine.”

Lifting my hand, I put it on top of Dima’s head and ruffled his hair gently. “You will have your five minutes, but once those are up, you will have to come home because your father has training set for you tonight and not the defensive kind. He wants you to learn how to fight. You will be using real knives against me.”

That seemed to make Dima’s steps falter, his gaze coming up to me in almost slight confusion. The look made me a lot happier than the nonchalance I should on my face.

“Couldn’t I kill you?”

“No Dima. You could not kill me. Your skills are not that good yet.” I gave him my miniscule smile and turned to stand in front of him. He really was a good kid even when he snuck off to visit a forbidden lover. “When they do your training will become harder. You will be fighting real enemies, but remember, at that time you will have me at your side. I’m a shield. Remember to use me and do not fear. The moment you show fear, we will run and your father will not be happy.”

“You will protect me from him too if it came down to it, wouldn’t you?”

For a moment I replayed what happened with Sasha in my head, then, when that stopped, I looked at Dima with a larger smile than I could ever remember giving someone in the three hundred years I had been a vampire.

“Yes. I will not let anyone die while I watch again so if your father came after you with a knife, I would step between you and him without hesitation.”

Dima seemed to chew on my words for a moment before he nodded and jerked his head towards the car waiting for him.

“Five minutes Serge.”

“Five minutes.”


	2. Gage Holt

Seven Years Old

I don’t really like the doctor. Mom says I have to see him to figure out why I never feel hungry. I guess it’s not good that I don’t really want the grilled cheese the nanny always makes me. I tried to tell her it was just because I didn’t want grilled cheese anymore, but she didn’t believe me. I don’t know why. I ate a little bit of the pizza she bought me yesterday, but that must not have been enough.

Kicking my feet, I looked down from the edge of the bed and then looked back up at Mommy, who was talking on her phone. She was always on that thing, talking to her friends. I wished I could talk to my friends like that, but she said kids couldn’t play with those. They were for adults only.

“Mommy, when are we going home?” I asked when she didn’t look up at me for a long period of time. It got her attention for a moment, but then she was talking on her phone again, something about a fight scene she had to work on. I know she plays in movies, but I’m not sure what she was talking about right now. I guess she got to beat up bad guys in this next one.

“Mrs. Holt,” the doctor said as he entered the room. His hands were clutching his little board as he sat down on his stool. Now that he was seated he was shorter than me! I almost pointed that out, but he was giving my mom this weird look. He looked sad and when I looked at Mommy she was giving him the same kind of weird look. “What I have to say isn’t easy and I know you won’t want to hear it, but,” the doctor looked at me for a moment before turning back to my mom. His face was lined with wrinkles and his lips were worried, like he had been biting them. Mom always said to see what people looked like, to observe them, to make sure they were good people. He looked like a good person, but he looked like he had seen many hard times.

So maybe I shouldn’t hate the doctor so much. He must just work hard to have this constant look of pain on his face. His little room was boring, but he probably had more things to worry about than my boredom.

“My son has… what?” Mother’s voice caught my attention and I looked at her a little startled. I had never heard her sound so frightened. Mom was never scared.

“Mommy?” My voice made her look at me and quickly she was at my side, pulling me so tightly against her that I felt like I was going to be squished. Pushing at her, I tried to get off the bed, but she kept me still in her strong hands. “Mommy, what’s wrong?” I asked, looking up at her than at the doctor. What had he said that had made her this scared?

After a moment of silence, the doctor looked at me and moved his rolling chair so he could sit in front of me.

“You are sick Gage. I was just telling your mom what you have.” The doctor took in a deep breath and leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees. He was really close to me, obviously trying to keep my attention. “You have something called cancer. It’s a sickness some kids get that can make them feel very bad. We have caught your sickness early so we hope to make you better soon, but you will have to come back to the doctors a lot to do that. Your mom is just surprised by what I had to say. It’s a scary thing to have, but I know you are a strong little boy. You will get better soon.”

I wasn’t sick! I just wasn’t hungry! I wanted to scream that, but then my mother was sobbing at my side. Looking up at her, I panicked and started to cry too, but not because I was scared. I just wanted to make her stop crying and I didn’t know how.

Reaching up, I pulled at her shirt until she lowered herself enough that I could hug her just as tightly as she had been hugging me.

“Stop crying Mommy,” I begged. I wasn’t used to my mom crying. She was always too busy looking at her phone to cry.

For several minutes there was just the soft sound of both of us crying, but eventually she stopped and leaned down to kiss my forehead. Her lips lingered there before she finally moved away and pulled herself together.

The moment she was done crying, I stopped, but I kept my face against her side as she spoke to the doctor. I wasn’t paying attention to the words because now I was tired. Crying and worrying about mom had taken a lot out of me. I think I would ask for a nap when we got home.

* * *

 

Sixteen Years Old

“I’m sick again?” I asked the doctor, leaning back in the bed as the man came into the room. It was the same doctor that had diagnosed my cancer the first time and he was looking like he had aged twenty years rather than ten.

Slowly the doctor nodded and sat down on his stool. He was fiddling with his clipboard like he always did. He hated telling me what I had already known and I didn’t blame him, but this time there would be no water works. My mother was away at work and I had known for weeks I was sick; I just hadn’t bothered to get it checked out. If I did, then it was likely my mother would come back and I knew she shouldn’t. She loved her worked and, no matter how much she loved me, it would make her happier at work than in a doctor’s office with me.

“So do we have to go through the same treatments or is it different this time around?”

My calm attitude must have thrown the poor man off because he just started at me with his steady gaze. It took him several minutes to figure out his own words, but when he managed he straightened his back and nodded his head.

“Again, we caught it early so it shouldn’t be too hard to get rid of, but you should know, it’s not good for things to come back like this. It could mean that you could get cancer again.” He seemed to think I hadn’t already thought about that and was on edge. However, I just smiled at him and just motioned for him to continue since I knew there was more. “We will need to start your treatments right away because, while it is early, it looks like it is spreading quickly this time. If we don’t slow it down it could easily spread, all over you, and kill you within a small period of time.”

“I’m aware of how this sickness works doc. It’s fine. Let’s just do what we need to, so I can make it to my eighteen birthday, alright?” I smiled at the old man and got down from my seat before placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know this is hard to tell anyone, but I promise you, I’m okay. Don’t stress too much. It just means you will have to see me more and deal with my strange attitude.”

 

Even though I had cancer before, this was something else entirely. I was getting sicker I think. I puked after treatments and after a while I wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital anymore. They kept me in one of the plusher rooms and at that point my mother had come fluttering in, her normally flawlessly face creased with worry.

I hated worrying her.

It took only a little bit of convincing on my part to make her believe I was okay enough for her to go back to work. I mostly just had to explain to her that there was nothing she could do with me laying here, sick in bed. Her time was better spent at work where she can enjoy herself for me.

When she was gone, I was left to watch movies in my room and sleep when I could. My body was really thin at this point, having been unable to keep anything solid down. Not that I cared. Each time someone came in, I gave them a huge smile and asked if they were having a good day.

I would have to be blind to think they didn’t think I was going to die. Each nurse had this look in their eyes that said they would be sad when they finally had to call my mom to tell her I either was near death or dead. It wasn’t a call any of them wanted to make.

Too bad I had no intention of letting them make that phone call.

* * *

 

Eighteen Years Old

“Happy birthday Gage!” Shouted the nursing staff, their wide smiles growing when I blew out the candle on top of the cake they had brought in for me. It was a cute cake. One with a lot of white frosting and bright red writing on it. Since I was still in the hospital, they had decided to go all out for my birthday.

I had gifts lining my entire room and only half of them were from my mother who wasn’t going to be able to fly back to see me until next week. I told her it was fine, but I knew she hated herself a little for not coming back the moment she remembered it was my birthday and I would be released soon. The amount of times she had come to see me since I entered the hospital was minimal, but I didn’t blame her.

A hospital wasn’t a fun place to be, especially if it is your blood that is sick. Seeing her son almost skin and bone had probably scarred the poor woman for life and I didn’t want to subject her to that again. I had barely wanted to look at myself in a mirror. I’m not sure how all these nurses had managed to look at me for so long like this. I was a wreck.

Sitting back in my bed, I let my favorite nurse, Caroline, cut me a piece of cake, but didn’t take a bite until I was sure everyone else that wanted a piece got it. Only then did I actually accept my cake and take a large bite of the sugary goodness. It wasn’t melt in your mouth amazing, but it was perfect for me. I could keep food down now and that was the best thing I could have asked for.

“So, are you going to come visit us again after you leave?” Caroline asked, sitting down on the side of my bed. She was a slightly heavy woman, her curves being more prominent than a lot of the newer nurses, but she was by far the prettiest. Her hair was a beautiful dark brown that looked like someone had taken dark chocolate and melted it down to pour over her. It almost appeared to drip into her eyes as well because they were the same color. Normally, most people aren’t impressed with brown eyes, but it’s hard to not love her eyes, that sparkled when she spoke. All the kindness in her face made those eyes shine brighter than the bluest eyes ever could.

“Of course I will. I came and visited you after the first time I was sick too. Once a month with a flower for everyone. Although, now I think a single flower won’t be enough to thank you all for taking care of my scrawny ass.”

A few of the nurses snickered as they ate their cake, but Caroline reached out to smack my arm gently. It was barely a tap, probably because she was afraid I would still bruise if a strong wind came my way.

“You surviving is enough thanks for us kiddo.” She grabbed my hand then and squeezed.

“Well, let’s hope that every time I come in here from now on it’s because I’m bringing those flowers and not because of this again.” I wanted to add that I didn’t think I would survive another battle, but I didn’t have to. I could see the thought hang in the air like a noose. Everyone knew this time had been close and my body couldn’t take another hard battle to get rid of cancer. If I tried, I might live for a year during treatment, but that’s all I would likely have. “Thanks again for the cake.”

“Any time. Make sure you bring me cake on my birthday alright?” Caroline winked and quickly took her leave so she could go back to work.

 

“Hey everyone!” I chirped as I walked through the familiar hallways of the hospital, bringing either flowers or candy to every worker I met. If I knew they were allergic to the flowers, they got the candy. Otherwise they got the beautiful daisy that was far bigger than it should be. Last time everyone got a rose, but I had to change it up every time so it wasn’t boring.

It was when I was down to my last flower that I realized that there was a familiar face I hadn’t seen yet. Confused, I walked to the front desk and asked where Caroline was. The two girls there seemed to hesitate then told me where to find her.

Since I knew the place so well, it was easy for me to make record time to the room that held my favorite nurse. When I got there, I saw her, laying on a bed with her hands folded neatly over her stomach which had shrunk to a third of what it last was. If I thought, I had been skin and bone I had been wrong. She was much worse off.

“You know, sleeping on the job can get you into trouble,” I playfully scolded her as I sat down on the bed like she used to do for me.

“Going to nark on me are you?” She gave a small laugh and reached out a hand to take the daisy from my hand. Her skin nearly matched the white petals and couldn’t help frowning at that. Because of how pale she was, her hair looked even darker and the circles under her eyes made it look like she hadn’t sleep in years.

“Maybe.” I licked my lips and leaned back slightly so I could look over her. She looked really bad. “So, is this where you have been since I got out?”

Caroline nodded her head slowly and set the flower on the table next to her bed. “I’ve been sick for a while, but my disease has no cure. I could only keep going until it finally decided to slow me down.”

“Come on, you are my amazing Caroline. Kept me alive for the better part of a decade. A little disease can’t take you down.” This made her give a small chuckle as she rested one of her hands over mine. “I know you didn’t want me to know. The girls up front seemed to debate whether they should tell me or not, but I’m glad they did. This gives me the chance to tell you a few things.”

Caroline gave me a confused look and so I explained to her how much I loved her. I mean, it wasn’t like I was telling her I secretly wanted to be her boyfriend. Instead I was explaining how she was like my big sister. I could see how strong she was, even in her weakened state. I told her how wonderful she was and how I was going to miss her, but I knew the pain could be a bit much. I knew that getting rid of the pain would be a nice release and she reluctantly agreed.

Then we spent the better part of the evening talking about her short life of thirty-one. By the time morning came she did finally pass away, but she did so with a smile on her face and I was happy to be sitting by her side when she did so. I knew she didn’t have family and I was very glad I could tell her that she was like my family before she left this world.

She wouldn’t be alone forever, even if I would live to see another day and she wouldn’t.

“I’ll see you in a few years Caroline. Make sure to bake a cake for me.”


	3. Dylan LaBelle

Six Years Old

“Dylan, this is your new family,” the woman next to me said, her hand squeezing my shoulder as I looked up at the couple standing in front of me.

“Dylan baby,” The blonde woman said, leaving the man’s side so she could kneel in front of me. “You are going to come home with us and I’m going to be your mommy.” I frowned at her, looking up at the other woman next to me before looking back at her. “At least I’m going to try. I know this is hard for you to understand right now, but I promise you, you will love living with us.” The woman paused to lift a hand to brush a piece of blonde hair behind my ear before she gave me a tearful smile. “If you don’t want to call me mom, you can call me Sarah. Your dad,” She pointed to the man behind her before turning her attention back to me, “you can call Mark.”

“Sarah,” I tested the word in my mouth for a moment before saying the second name. “Mark.” I looked up at Sarah and she nodded, her hand moving away from me.

For a moment I just stared at her, searching her eyes for the hatred I had seen in my foster parent’s eyes, but all I saw was kindness and maybe some tiredness. Knowing that, I wrapped my arms around her tightly and buried my face into her neck. She wouldn’t make me eat those stupid noodles that were never cooked all the way through.

“My beautiful girls,” Mark said as I looked up at him. He had a thick accent so it was hard to understand him, but it was a pretty sound. It wasn’t what I pictured for my family, but I think I could fall asleep to him reading me bed time stories. “Shall we go home?”

Sarah said nothing, just lifted me up and carried me to the car. This left me to stare at the woman who had brought me here. She was smiling and waving, but she looked bored, like she had seen this too many times. I know there were a lot of other kids at my old home, but I didn’t think any of them besides me had been adopted. She couldn’t possibly do this all the time.

When Sarah tried to put me in the back seat, I clung to her a little tighter. I thought she was going to tell me to let go and that I had to sit in my seat. Instead she carried me over to her seat and let me cling to her while Mark got into the driver’s seat to take us home.

“Are you ready to see your new home?” Sarah whispered, stroking my hair softly with her hand. I would have answered her, but I was too relaxed to do so. I simply nodded my head slowly and buried my face further into her neck. “Well, you have to look at the house if you want to see it.”

Reluctantly, I looked away from her at the large home that stared at me. It was so big I wondered if there was an end, but when Sarah opened the front door, there was a large glass wall that showed the backyard. At least, I think it was the yard. All I saw was snow and trees. It looked like one of the paintings at the group home and I almost felt sick, but then something came barreling up to me and licked my face.

“Lady!” Sarah was laughing as she grabbed onto the animal’s collar and pulled it to the side. There, in Sarah’s hand, was a large black dog with its tongue hanging out of its mouth. “Dylan, this is Lady. She is our dog. You like dogs right?”

For a moment I just stood there before I ran forward and hugged the dog so tightly I thought she might break. However, the animal just rested her body forward and let me cling to her like she was a teddy bear.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

* * *

Fourteen Years Old

I walked up to my mom and grabbed her hand, trying to give her some support. I knew it wouldn’t do too much, because I could barely keep myself together, but I had to try.

“Mom,” I whispered, leaning against her side as she shook with her sobs. “He wouldn’t want you to cry.” Saying that without breaking out into tears was hard to say the least. He was my dad and he had only been dead for two days. Not crying was one of the hardest things I could do right now.

“I-I know D-Dylan.” Mom turned her head to look at me with tear filled eyes. “I love you.”

I smiled at her and whispered that I loved her too before leaning my head to rest it against her shoulder. I think this memorial would be easier if his death hadn’t been so sudden. He had been walking Lady on the usual path through the park when a bear had come out of nowhere. Lady had tried to protect him, but she was old and it took only one swipe from the bears paw to end her life. Then the bear was after Dad because he didn’t move away fast enough.

People had heard him screaming and one person had even tried to shoot the bear, but a few bites and some scratches across the stomach became deadly in seconds. The ambulance had been on the way to the hospital when he died. They hadn’t been able to bring him back so when mom and I got to the hospital, we got the news and we were left to bury two bodies.

Then again, it could have been worse. I had been supposed to walk with him, but had too much homework to be able to go. I was both glad I wasn’t there and sad. If I had been there, maybe I could have helped him survive, but I also could have been killed.

Closing my eyes, I gave a soft sigh and tried to focus my mind. I was supposed to be helping my mom. She needed a rock and that’s what I wanted to be.

“Let’s… go home.”

I looked at Mom and then around at the people from Dad’s work that had come to the memorial. I thought we would be the last to leave, but when I looked back at Mom I knew we had to leave now before she completely lost her mind.

“Yeah. You go to the car and I’ll just let people know really quick.” I could see her protest, so I grabbed her keys and made her take them. “We need to let the car warm up anyway. It’s still snowing. I can’t drive yet, so it’s better if you do that. I’ll only have to tell a few people.”

Reluctantly she nodded and began to walk to the car. I waited until she was half way there before I went to the first person to tell them we were leaving. Once I made my way around the room, people had begun to file out so I went and picked up the urn that held my father. He was pretty light, but I made sure I had a good grip on him before I scurried out to mom’s car. She was seated in the driver’s seat and I made sure she was looking away when I opened the back of the car to put the ashes in the back seat.

With dad put away, I climbed into the passenger seat and reached over to grab Mom’s hand. She gently squeezed my hand and whispered, “Thank you beautiful girl.”

I smiled at her use of Dad’s nickname for me and leaned my head against her shoulder as she began the long drive home. When we got home, Mom let me take care of her for about thirty more minutes before she snapped out of her haze and was back to being her usual self. She began to clean up and made sure to spoil me with my favorite meal.

“You want some comfort food?” She asked as she came back from the kitchen with a carton of M&M ice cream and two spoons.

“Oh you know the way to my heart and my stomach.” I moved over on the couch so she could sit next to me, before we both began to eat the ice cream. For several minutes we didn’t say anything. We just ate the ice cream and watched our rerun of Friends for the tenth time. “I miss him,” I whispered without warning, having to put my spoon down to keep myself from shoveling more ice cream into my mouth.

“I do too.” Mom sounded weak, but she smiled at me and brushed my hair out of my face. “It’s going to be hard for us for a few weeks, but we will keep going. We will need to decide on a time to go scatter his ashes, but-.”

“I want to get one of those necklaces to put some of his ashes in them. I need a little piece of him with me.”

For a moment, Mom just stared at me before smiling and nodding her head. “Alright beautiful girl, we will go get that tomorrow. I think I need one too.”

Nodding my head, I picked up my spoon and began to eat again. It was weird not having a dog with her head on my lap or a dad to come in to tell us we had to stop eating all the ice cream because he wanted some too.

* * *

Seventeen Years Old

“Your mom has cancer? Shit Dylan, your luck is little to none,” My coworker, Kayla, said as she stocked the shelves.

“It’s early so they think they will get her fixed, but the chemo has already made her start to lose her hair and she is getting self-conscious.” I stopped and looked over at my coworker with a large grin. “I’m going to shave my head.”

Instantly she stopped moving and looked at me with large eyes that looked like they were about to pop out of her head. “What?!”

“Wanna help me?” I grinned at her and lifted the pony-tail that I sat on every time I decided to sit on any surface. My hair was so long when it was down that it went past my ass. I think it was time for a trim. “We have to be careful about my hair though because I want to donate it so people like my mom have hair.”

Again, Kayla stared before she grinned back at me and nodded her head.

“When we get off, we can stop at my place to do the deed. Then you get to go home and show your mom the new hair.” Kayla started to go back to work only to stop and look at me again. “You have until we get to my place to change your mind.”

 

“Alright, here we go,” I said as I got out of my car and began to walk up to the house. When I got inside, I kept my hood up, which made my mom squint her eyes slightly. “What?”

“Why is your hood up? It’s not raining.” My mom walked over slowly and crossed her arms over her chest. “And that look on your face says you did something. What did you do Dylan?”

I gave her a sheepish grin before taking a step back so she couldn’t get a look under the hood.

“Well, you know how we shaved your head a few nights ago since you were losing your hair because of chemo?” Slowly she nodded her head and I reached up to grab my hood. “Well, I decided to make you feel more comfortable by joining you in the bald club.” I pulled the hood down and heard the gasp that came from my mom. “I also got my hair donated to make wigs for other cancer patients.”

I waited for my mom to do something for a long time after that explanation. She just stood there, her hand resting on her chest as she stared at my head. It started to make me unsure of my decision before she came up to me and wrapped her arms around me so tightly that I felt like I was being crushed.

“You are the best daughter I could have ever asked for.” She kissed my head a few times before running her fingers over my freshly shaven head. “How does it feel? It’s cold right?”

I laughed and nodded my head. “Yes it is, but I think I kind of like it. I won’t have to spend thirty minutes trying to brush my mane out.” My mother laughed at that before kissing my head one more time. “I didn’t want you to be alone. I know dad would have shaved his head too.”

“He would have. Or he would have dyed it bright pink so he could say he was supporting the cure for cancer.” We both laughed at the image of my Greek father in bright pink anything. “He would be very impressed by your decision Dylan.”

I smiled up at her and nodded my head. I knew he would be.

 

“You are cured?!” I screamed in the hallway of the hospital.

“Yes! The doctor just told me. I have to come back for checkups, but it’s gone.”

I threw myself at my mother and tightened my arms around her so tightly that I thought she might explode. She was better now!

“That means we can both stop shaving our heads.” I watched as my mother lifted her hands and ran them over her scalp. I knew how much she missed her hair, but I didn’t miss the constant headaches I received from how long it had been. I might let my hair grown again, but I doubt it would ever be that length it had been when I shaved it off. “Let’s go celebrate with a big fat milkshake.”

I nodded eagerly and hooked my arm around my mom’s so we could walk side by side out of the hospital for the last time.


	4. Fyfe McLeod

Five Years Old      

“Fyfe, stop hiding,” Mother said, a small laugh echoing in her voice. She always told me to stop hiding, but I never did. I couldn’t stop myself. People were scary.

“He looks so big.” Mom’s friend leaned down so she was eye level with me and held a hand out like she would with a normal house cat. I almost wanted to hiss and scurry away, but Lennox came up in his kitten form and playfully bit the woman’s hand. After she gave a surprised yelp, she laughed and ran a hand down my brother’s back. “And he looks just like his father. His markings on the face are beautiful.”

Lennox purred and looked at me as if expecting me to join him. I was not going near that lady. She looked scary.

“Is little Fyfe the same?” Hearing my name, I hid behind mom a little more and she just patted my head to try to sooth me.

“He refuses to shift around anyone so I have no idea. I bet Lennox could tell you, but he won’t. He is so loyal to his brother.” Looking up, I saw the smile in mom’s eyes, but when I looked at her friend I saw a look that told me she thought I was weird.

“Are you even sure he can shift? There are kids that can’t, even with shifter parents.”

Instantly my mom’s face changed and she reached out grabbing onto her friend’s throat, holding her at arm’s length.

“Don’t look at my son like that.” Her voice was low and dangerous. If she hadn’t been mom, I would have run, but instead I clung to her tighter and only let go when Lennox came over and began to rub his head against my hand. I would have shifted then to get away, but I was scared. No one else besides Lennox knew I was different and I didn’t want mom to look at me the same way that woman had.

“Let her be Kylie. She didn’t mean any harm.” I looked up at dad and sprinted to him so I could fling myself into his arms. Quickly, he picked me up and I was able to hide my face in his neck and pretend the woman behind me couldn’t see me. “How about we not let our anger get the best of us?”

I heard a few grunts behind me and tried to crawl further against my dad only to be stopped and set down so I was with Lennox again. The moment I was on the ground I started crying, my body trembling wildly as I did so. I really didn’t mean to cry, but I was scared. I didn’t like strangers and the woman made me feel weird. I didn’t feel comfortable.

I was crying only for a few seconds before I felt a large head nudge me and a rough tongue running up my cheek. When I turned my head I saw mom’s tiger form staring at me and I reached out to grab onto her fur and clung so tightly she gave small noises of irritation. Not that I cared. She wouldn’t bite me unless I pulled fur out and I wasn’t holding that tightly.

 

“Lennox,” I whimpered, curling against him. He was in his tiger form again and I was getting a little jealous. It was so comfortable to sleep as a tiger, but I could only do it if Lennox was keeping watch for me. “Do you think mom will be mad at me?”

He lifted his head and yawned only to place his jaw on my arm to give me this annoyed look. He wanted sleep.

“I want to shift.”

Lennox lifted his head and it took him a second, but he shifted back into his human form that mimicked mine perfectly. Mom said if we were to wear the same thing she wouldn’t be able to tell us apart. That is, until I cried and Lennox stepped up to protect me.

“So shift. Mom won’t care. She is mom.” Lennox yawned again, but smiled and stretched out as he laid himself back on the bed. “Can we both shift now?”

I was hesitant, but I nodded my head and slowly shifted so I could curl up against my brother.

The next morning when I woke up it was because mom was screaming. Well, not screaming really, but she gave a loud cry that had both Lennox and I against the edge of our bed with our teeth bared.

“Russ! He is white!” Finally, I saw mom’s large smile and relaxed, licking at Lennox’s face. Mom didn’t think I was a freak. I was okay! Mom was smiling!

“He’s what?” My dad said in surprise as he joined her in the room before blinking wildly as he glanced over at Lennox and I. “White. Jesus. How did that happen?”

“Isn’t he beautiful?” For a while both of my parents just stared until my mom came over and picked me up, kissing me and stroking my fur. “So beautiful.”

Before I knew it, I was purring and rubbing my head all over her face. Mom didn’t think I was a freak!

* * *

Thirteen Years Old

Whining, I lowered my head and tried to cover it with my arms so that the boys would stopping hitting me there with the rocks. Since Lennox was at football practice, I didn’t have anyone to protect me. At least not yet. He would likely find out what they did and they would pay for it, but right now I had to deal with rocks the size of my fist being thrown in my direction.

“Nerd!” The boys yelled at me as they threw an even larger rock. I saw it coming and braced for it to hit me, but when it never did I opened my eyes only to see Lennox there with a glare planted firmly on his face.

“Leave my brother alone before I smash your heads in!” All the boys looked at Lennox in horror than ran off. If they had had tails they would have been between their legs.

“I think you are going to be an alpha,” I stated after a moment, pulling my oversized hoodie down in a nervous habit. I hated that I was so quiet and shy sometimes because I got stuck with bullies like those boys who would constantly poke fun at me and throw things at me. “I’m not.”

“We shall see. I’m going to laugh if you end up the alpha and I end up an omega.” He grinned at me and winked making me feel safe again.

Slowly I walked up to him and stood so close that my arm brushed against his. Since he was still in the middle of practice, I walked with him to the field and simply sat in the bleachers while he practiced so I was safer and so he wouldn’t get into trouble for leaving the field again.

* * *

Seventeen Years Old

“Lennox!” I cried out, running out of the house and away from the foreign tigers that were currently fighting with our parents. “T-Tigers in t-territory!”

I could see Lennox get ready to shift but I shook my head. Dad had been killed and mother had been screaming for me to get out for the last ten minutes, but I had refused to leave until Lennox came. I couldn’t go anywhere until he came back because I didn’t go anywhere without him.

“We can’t!”

“They killed dad!” Lennox roared, his body rippling in the anger I knew he had. He was almost an alpha, but he hadn’t quite reached the status of one. It could be because our father was and only one alpha in an area was needed when it came to cats. We were typically solitary creatures so if one had a kid that could rival them the relationship never ended well. That wasn’t why we had to get away however.

“I’m going into heat!”

That made Lennox stop and look at me with a look of alarm. We hadn’t thought I would really be of an omega status, but I was. This only proved it because an alpha that wasn’t family had sent me into this state. If we didn’t get away soon I would be claimed by a man who had killed our father.

“Shit,” Lennox said, looking up just in time to see a group of three young tigers come strolling out of the front door. That meant they had either fought our mother into submission or killed her. I hated to think it, but I figured it would be the latter. They had killed her mate. She wouldn’t just roll over and let that slide. “We gotta go.”

Lennox grabbed my hand and we were running down the road until we hit the highway. Two cars almost hit us, but eventually someone stopped and we were able to steal their car. Of course, that left them with the tigers, but we had to get away and quick. Once we made it to the next town over we ditched the car, shifted and began to run on foot. At least, until I was fully into heat and panting with need.

I began to rub against Lennox and whined, baring my neck and hitting him with my tail to get his attention. I knew he was my brother, but my need was overwhelming. I needed to have some kind of sensation to get me through this. I knew he wouldn’t make it stop, but he would curb some of the need for a few minutes. At least, I hoped he would.

When he finally appeased me, we spent the next two days shifting between forms so he could fuck me, his teeth leaving marks on my shoulder even though he was always in his human form when we fucked. It really did look like a wild animal had had its way with me by the time my heat cycle finally ended.

Not that I was going to complain. I had enjoyed the bites even when they broke the skin.

“Fyfe, we have to keep going,” Lennox said to me, when he got back from bathing in the river. He looked tired and looked like he hadn’t eaten well, which was true. Neither of us had eaten more than a rabbit within the last two or three days.

“Can we hunt first?” I could see Lennox wanting to deny my request, but his stomach rumbled before he could. “Just a quick one. Then we can head away from here.”

Lennox nodded and shifted right before I did.

In a few seconds we were both off running to find something to eat. It took us a while to track something down big enough to feed ourselves, but when we found it, it only took a few minutes to bring it down and start tearing at it with our teeth.

Once we finished eating, we began to take a nap, which happened to be our downfall.

We had been sleeping for no longer than a few minutes when I felt something go around my neck and I was yanked backwards. I made a small squeaking noises since the cord cut off my wind pipe, but the noise was enough to wake Lennox who was on his feet in a second baring his teeth in a vicious snarl.

I couldn’t see what was happening behind me, but the next I saw was Lennox collapsing with a dart poking out from his chest. Soon, I followed suit and only woke up when we were inside a cage.

_Lennox!_

I heard a grunt from Lennox who had woken up before me and was pacing in the small cage. When I got up to rub against him, he bit me gently in warning. He was stressed and frightened. My constant need of reassurance was not welcome right now. That didn’t mean I would stop. I simply walked along with him, looking outside of the bars that held us in our space.

_We are in a circus camp. We were going to be euthanized, but the circus claimed we were their tigers that got loose. Since we only killed wildlife, the park rangers gave us to them and all they did was give the circus people warning to keep us locked up. Aka, these stupid morons got a pair of tigers for free._

_What?_ I gave my brother an alarmed look.

_We are stuck here for a bit Fyfe. We can’t shift without exposing ourselves._

_What happens if an alpha shows up?_

I saw Lennox stop, but I kept going until I could curl up in a corner. I was scared that such a thing would happen and I would go into heat again. Obviously they knew we were both male tigers. The humans wouldn’t know what to do with a male tiger that went into heat and had all these male humans begging to get closer because of it.

_We will deal with that when it comes._

I looked up at him and watched as he laid down next to me, his big head resting on top of mine.

* * *

Twenty Years Old

We had gone so long without me going into heat, but now it was happening and I could see three separate alphas just staring at our cage. Lennox kept baring his teeth at them and was pacing, but I was near begging them to come fuck me even in my tiger form. I didn’t care that they were all different races, I just wanted my heat cycle to end.

Panting, I crawled forward, only to have Lennox’s teeth go around my neck to pin me in my spot. I struggled for a moment before going still. Once he was sure I wouldn’t move, he let go and stood over me so his large orange form hid me slightly from prying eyes.

The show that night had been difficult. Focusing was not on my mind and I slipped more than once and ended up catching my fur on fire. The human in the ring quickly put it out, but Lennox had snapped at him for getting so close so we both felt the crack of the whip when it was aimed towards us.

Even that wasn’t enough for me to forget there were three alphas waiting to corner me and pin me against any surface so they could fuck me and fill me with their cum. That made me shudder, but I fell back in line with Lennox and made it through the rest of the show without so many slip ups.

When we got into the cage that night, Lennox did fuck me to keep my body from exploding in need, but we had to wait for so long to shift that we really didn’t get time to do anything. By the time morning came we had only gotten a few rounds in and I was still more needy than I should have been.

If we wanted to keep this from happening again, we would have to find a way to get out of this circus, but we can’t just shift and get out. We wouldn’t be able to break the lock on the cage. We would have to wait for someone to forget and we highly doubted that would happen too often. We were the pride and joy of the circus. People flocked to see the tigers that were so mellow and well behaved. Well, that was us usually. Sometimes, like today, we had our more animal like moments, but it was becoming a lot easier to stay in our animal forms. At first it had been a horrible feeling not being able to change, but now I didn’t mind so much.

_Fyfe, shut up. I don’t want to think about being in this form for ten years. I want to be able to get out of here._

Whining, I nudged his head and relaxed next to him like I did every night. Eventually we would get free, but for right now we were stuck just lying in this cage and pretending to be wild animals.


End file.
